Can a payor's boating or hunting licence be suspended along with their driver's licence for unpaid support?
FRO's enforcement tools for licence suspension are generally understood in terms of a payor's driver's licence at the provincial level, and separately, certain federal licences such as a passport, for persistent, unaddressed arrears. Whether other, more specific licences like a boating or hunting licence can be reached the same way isn't something to assume works identically, since different licences are issued and regulated under different systems, and not every licensing regime is set up to interact with FRO's enforcement process in the same way a driver's licence is.
Rather than assuming a particular licence is or isn't reachable, a payor concerned about a specific licence, or a recipient wondering whether pursuing one might help collect arrears, should raise the question directly with FRO or get legal advice, since the answer depends on the specific licence and the enforcement mechanisms actually available for it. What is consistent across FRO's approach is that it generally reserves licence-related enforcement for situations involving persistent, unresolved default, following notice to the payor, rather than treating it as an automatic first response to any missed payment.
Key takeaways
- Driver's licence suspension and certain federal licence suspensions are the clearly established FRO tools.
- Other specific licences, like boating or hunting, depend on their own separate regulatory systems.
- Don't assume a specific licence is reachable without confirming with FRO or a lawyer.
- Licence-related enforcement generally follows notice and applies to persistent, unresolved default.